REVIEW: Mountain Dew Dew Shine

Here’s a completely useless nugget of information you will never have to recall in your lifetime. Before Mountain Dew was Mountain Dew, it was slang for the clear liquor called moonshine. And now Mountain Dew is honoring its past by selling a non-alcoholic clear soda called Dew Shine.

This isn’t the first alcohol-sounding, non-alcoholic Dew the folks at Mountain Dew have developed. A few years ago, they rolled out Mountain Dew Gold, a citrus and malt liquor-flavored soda. It was supposed to roll out nationwide and it had a campaign that gave Dew fans the chance name the beverage in different regions. The nationwide rollout never happened. Instead, it was sold only in a few regions across the U.S.

However, Mountain Dew Dew Shine has been rolled out nationwide and is available in single bottles or four-packs.

There’s a lot of retro going on with bottle’s label, which looks like a weathered piece of paper and features Willie the Hillbilly, the original Mountain Dew mascot, and “It’ll Tickle Yore Innards”, the original Mountain Dew slogan. The bottle is made of glass and beverage contains real sugar, which, if you think about it, is kind of retro in this day and age of high fructose corn syrup.

The beverage is as clear as water, and to make sure it was, I filled an empty Dew Shine bottle with water, put the screw top back on, placed it next to an unopened bottle, and had someone arrange the bottle with my back turned. After comparing the two for a few moments, I couldn’t tell the difference. Can you determine which is which using the photo below?

According to the bottle, Dew Shine is a “clear citrus flavored Dew,” and with its name, I assume it might taste somewhat like moonshine. Unfortunately, I can’t confirm that since I have no idea what moonshine tastes like and I’m not willing to drink moonshine because I don’t want the internet to have photos of me walking through Waikiki with no pants.

Dew Shine has a light citrusy aroma that reminds me of a generic lemon lime soda. Its flavor also has a mild citrusiness to it that leans towards lemon. But I detect a slight maltiness too. The combination is giving me flashbacks to Mountain Dew Gold, but with a much mellower flavor. The mellow flavor and light carbonation makes Dew Shine easy to drink.

Dew Shine is refreshing, not overly sweet, pleasant, and has the same amount of caffeine as a can of regular Mountain Dew (52 mg), but I’m not sure younger Dew fans would like it because it’s not like most Mountain Dew flavors. There’s no radioactive color, no bite, and it doesn’t slap you with sweetness. It’s a different kind of Dew.

The glass bottle, the beverage’s clear color, the use of real sugar, and its flavor makes it appear and taste like its for older or sophisticated taste buds. Because of those attributes, Dew Shine could be considered a Craft Dew. I also want to call it Crystal Dew.

But with that said, if I need a soda to pick me up, I would rather have regular Mountain Dew. Dew Shine has the same amount of caffeine as regular Dew, but I feel regular Dew’s combination of a sugary punch, stronger carbonation, and caffeine content does a better job at energizing me.

But if you happen to find some Dew Shine on shelves, I think it’s definitely worth picking up.

Item: Mountain Dew Dew ShinePurchased Price: Way too much on eBay ($26.99)Size: 4 pack of 12 oz bottlesPurchased at: eBayRating: 7 out of 10Pros: Nice citrusy flavor with a bit of maltiness. A sophisticated Dew. Easy to drink. Not made with high fructose corn syrup. Same amount of caffeine as a can of regular Mountain Dew. Nifty retro label. Cons: Younger Dew drinkers might find this flavor to be too mild when compared with other Dew flavors. Might be difficult to find. I prefer regular Dew when it comes to getting energized. The internet having photos you wish it didn’t. Only available in glass bottles.

Related

51 thoughts to “REVIEW: Mountain Dew Dew Shine”

Mountain Dew Dew Shine – not a fan. I was really excited to find this and give it a try. That excitement left pretty quickly… Drank half the bottle before dumping the rest. I’ll stick with regular Mountain Dew or Code Red.

I did the same exact thing! I was walking back to work from the local gas station where I got it and I poured about half of it on the ground. I had a regular mountain dew too and I didn’t want to be caught with the stomach discomfort of drinking that much sugar if it wasn’t worth it to my tastebuds.

Not only was Mountain Dew a euphemism for moonshine, but the soda itself was created to be a chaser for the liquor. Even today there’s no better way to chase bad whiskey than with a slug of dew, totally eliminates the alcohol burn.

My man, I have not heard a clearer truth in all my years. Some boys out in Tennessee made it to chase the mountain made shine. Not reddit, can’t give you gold. Sorry friend. Kraken and dew is on another level…mmmm.

Have you ever had moonshine? Or did someone trick you by selling you watered down everclear? Moonshine has a very unique flavor somewhat similar to whiskey but sweeter, stronger (usual between 120-150 proof and in some cases even stronger), and the flavor changes and can simply be changed with simple ingredients. But either way it’s nothing like vodka. Sorry for the rant but I as well as my last few generations are moonshiners even to this day we’re still burning the stills. But the author of the post is off too. Moonshine has no citrus flavor to it unless added, but as I said sorry for ranting. I’m gonna go now, you’re welcome for the info. Now I’m gonna go twist the lid off this mason jar. Have a nice day.

I loved hearing from a real moonshiner!! It’s on my Bucket List to taste moonshine! And Absinthe! I currently don’t drink any alcohol, but one of these days I’m gonna try those two!! Thank you for sharing your information!!

You’re wrong there fella. Moonshine has a light corn flavor to it that leaves an aftertaste like cornbread. People wouldn’t bother with it if it just tasted like grain alcohol. It tastes nothing like vodka. Come to Tennessee and I’ll introduce you to some straight from the hills.

I prefer bottles and real sugar so they have points going in. I am from the hippie era…so this one works for me. I pretty much stay away from soda unless it is bottled in glass not plastic with real sugar…am truely enjoying the nostalgia of real sugar sodas again….whether its Dewshine,Coke,Pepsi,7Up or Sprite.

I found it at the gas station near my work and picked up a glass bottle of regular mountain dew. I didn’t dwell on it long because I basically thought it tasted like nearly unflavored sugar water. 2g less sugar than mountain dew but regular dew tastes better.

I found it and bought one today. Gotta say, I actually liked it.. I liked the maltiness of the dewshinen. It reminded me of the Johnson city gold mountain dew. I sure wish they would bring it back!!! I dig dewshine but I think maybe they should name it crystal dew or perhaps dew glisten or something. People seem to be put off by ‘dewshine’ or think it’s riding on the coat-tails of the spirit industry.

You think that a mildly citrus flavored soda has the same taste as moonshine? There’s no way you’ve had moonshine. Moonshine tastes like straight grain alcohol, it tastes like rubbing alcohol smells, with MAYBE a LITTLE hint of vague sweetness depending on how it was made. Nothing about Dewshine is at all similar to moonshine.

Agreed, soda with cane sugar is far superior to soda made with corn syrup (which is the VAST majority of American soda in the present). Unfortunately, that is not going to change is this country. The reason that corn syrup has become the standard is that corn is such a hugely important and widely grown crop in this country. Basically, there is a sort of pact between US corn farmers and processed food manufacturers (not just soda companies) that corn syrup will be used in MANY, MANY food products to support the US farm-industrial complex. Also, corn syrup is just plain cheaper than cane sugar in the United States because of the fact that it is so widely grown in this country.

Oh, and be careful when buying the Mexican Coke/Pepsi products. I have noticed lately that a lot of the Mexican sodas in the glass bottles are now also being made with corn syrup. They will be made in Mexico, be in the same glass bottles, and still have the higher marked up cost but not even contain real sugar! Make sure you read the label and avoid the trickery by Coca-Cola/Pepsi. Not all Mexican sodas contain sugar anymore.

I don’t get the appeal but more importantly the REASONING behind this! Its good but if you are trying to make it look alcoholic and it has NO alcohol then why the hell make it in the first place!? Lmao makes absolutely NO SENSE whatsoever!

I noticed we started selling this at my work(acme markets), in the 4 packs. I was curious and about to buy one but I saw the non alcoholic lettering on the bottle and got confused. So is this a soda made to look like moonshine or is it suppose to be like a non alcoholic beer/moonshine? I don’t drink so i don’t have a clue.

It tastes like a mountain dew that was opened and left out for a couple of days, flat and syrupy. Naturally it tastes nothing like moonshine and for those who have never had shine, just take a swig of rubbing alcohol. Moonshine was never meant to have flavor, just knock you on your ass!

I work for the Long Beach Symphony Orchestra, I would ABSOLUTELY love to bring this in as a signature drink, I had it for the first time today and it is AMAZING to myself as well as my husband (who is a shall I call him a die hard advocate for Mountain Dew.. please let me know where I can buy these by the case or can please and thank you, maybe we can be your commercial for it…thinking out loud.

Regular Mountain Dew has 55 mg. of caffeine, Dew Shine has 54mg, so not that big of a difference.

Dew Shine tastes lighter, more “sparkly” on the tongue, really a nice drink for hot days.
To me, has a hint of grapefruit after taste.
The sugar adds seems to give it a lighter taste, as opposed to HFCS.

Absolutely Delicious! Smooth and Refreshing! It’s got an old timey taste to it that really goes well with the packaging: It’s what you expect it to be. Ice cold is the way to go too. It’s not too sweet. It’s not too carbonated. It’s JUST RIGHT!

The first time I tasted it, I felt a throw back to the 60’s and the original taste of 7up that was made back then with sugar. The taste is very similar, and others who have tried it and remember the old 7up notice it too. It has become my new favorite soft drink. I wish it came in a larger variety of sizes (6 packs, 2 liters, etc) but for now am happy when I find it in the grocery store or WalMart. It is very often sold out! $3.99 a 4 pack is a bit on the high side, but it tastes great and I will pay that. Of course, if your taste buds are shot from drinking the real moonshine or other crap, you might not appreciate it…but the burn from the real moonshine is thankfully missing from Dew Shine.

I bought one to see if it was just a marketing gimmick. Regular Mountain Dew’s very acidic, and Dewshine turned out to be easier to stomach. It has a lighter taste but the same Mountain Dew flavor, which I prefer over other citrus-flavored sodas.